Sultan Agung of Mataram

Sultan Agung on an Indonesian postage stamp

Sultan Agung Adi Prabu Hanyakrakusuma ( Javanese ꦯꦸꦭ꧀ꦠꦤ꧀ꦲꦒꦸꦁꦲꦢꦶꦦꦿꦧꦸꦲꦚꦏꦿꦏꦸꦱꦸꦩ , Arabic السلطان أجونج; also: Sultan Agung Adi Prabu Hanyåkråkusumå , b. 1593 ; died 1645 ; Sultan Agung = dt. "Great Sultan" / "Majestic Sultan") was the third Sultan of Mataram in Central Java . He ruled from 1613 to 1645. A skilled military leader, he conquered neighboring states, expanding and consolidating his empire into its greatest military and territorial power.

Sultan Agung has had great aftermath to this day as a Javanese ruler, a fighter against the colonialism of the Dutch East India Company and as a conqueror in a cultural environment in which myth and magic are closely interwoven with verifiable historical events and people.

Reign

Conquests

The largest expansion of the Sultanate of Mataram during the reign of Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo (1613–1645).

Sultan Agung became ruler of Mataram in 1613 and attacked Surabaya as early as the following year , as well as Malang , which is south of Surabaya, and also the eastern end of the island of Java, but could not conquer both. However, he was able to make big booty as "compensation", which he used in 1615 to conquer Wirasaba (today's Mojoagung , near Mojokerto ). He led this campaign personally. In 1616 there was a retaliatory attack from Surabaya, but because they had no allies, the Surabaya army was crushed in Siwalan , Pajang (near Surakarta ). The coastal town of Lasem , near Rembang , was conquered that same year, and Pasuruan , southeast of Surabaya in 1617. Tuban , one of the oldest and largest towns on the Java coast, was conquered in 1619.

Surabaya had been Mataram's greatest opponent until then. Agung's grandfather, Senapati Ing Ngalaga of Mataram (Senopati), had the courage to attack this powerful city and his father, Seda ing Krapyak of Mataram (Panembahan Seda Krapyak), attacked unsuccessfully. Sultan Agung weakened Surabaya by conquering Sukadana , Surabaya's ally in southwest Kalimantan in 1622, and then by conquering Madura , another ally of Surabaya in 1624. After five years of war, Agung finally conquered Surabaya by siege in 1625. With the capture of Surabaya, the kingdom of Mataram encompassed all of central and east Java, as well as Madura, while the west and east of the island and its mountainous south (except for Mataram itself) retained their own dominions. In the west, Banten and the Dutch settlement of Batavia remained outside Agung's sphere of influence.

Mataram's economy was mainly based on agriculture and Sultan Agung was openly hostile to trade. He was also not interested in the acquisition of naval forces, which would later cost him dearly when he attacked the Dutch in 1629 and tried to drive them from their headquarters in Jakarta . Although he had the larger and better positioned land forces, the Dutch had the decisive advantages through their navy and were able to survive the siege of Batavia .

After this failure, Agung turned against the Balinese , who at that time ruled Balambangan in eastern Java, in a “holy war” against the “infidels”. His campaign was successful in Java, but he failed to expand his power to the island of Bali itself. Bali accordingly retained its identity as a Hindu state in the midst of the predominant Muslim states of the archipelago.

In addition to his conquests, the sultan also tried to improve his administration and streamline the government in his kingdom. He reformed the tax system and brought the courts and legal system more in line with Quranic regulations. He commissioned the construction of the Keraton Karta (royal palace) in 1614, as well as the royal burial place Imogiri and other buildings and facilities.

Riots

In 1625, Mataram was the undisputed center of power in Java. However, his military strength did not prevent the vassals from rebellions, especially since Mataram was unable to conquer Batavia. Pajang rebelled in 1617 and Pati in 1627. After the conquest of Surabaya in 1625, expansion came to a standstill because the whole empire was shaken by rebellions. In 1630 Mataram crushed a rebellion in Tembayat (southeast of Klaten ) and from 1631 to 1636 Mataram had to fight rebellions in Sumedang and Ukur in West Java. Agung's attempt from 1628 to 1629 to take Batavia and drive the Dutch out of Java failed.

death

In 1632, Sultan Agung den Imogiri began building his tomb about 15 km south of Yogyakarta . Imogiri became the burial place of most of the rulers of Yogyakarta and Surakarta . In addition to the sultan himself, Queen Batang and her sons were also buried in Agung's mausoleum. Agung died in the spring of 1646, leaving behind an empire that encompassed most of Java and even extended to the neighboring islands.

Historical meaning

The development of the ritual dance Bedhaya as well as important developments in Gamelan and Wayang are associated with Sultan Agung. However, there is very little information available about the arts at court. The few written references come from comments in Dutch reports. Sultan Agung is also credited with the introduction of the specific Javanese calendar ( Javanese ꦥꦤꦁꦒꦭ꧀ꦭꦤ꧀ꦗꦮ , translit. Pananggalan Jawa), which is used today.

Sultan Agung's most important legacy, however, lay in the administrative reforms he implemented in the conquered territories. The growing area required an innovative and rational structure. He created "provinces" ( kadipaten ), which he subordinated to an " adipati " (~ duke ). The "kabupaten" Karawang , for example, was the first province created when Agung appointed Prince Kertabumi as the first adipati in 1636 . When the Dutch East India Company took control of the territories of Mataram, it kept the cadipate structure. Under the colonial administration, the adipati (“ bupati ”) were referred to as “regents” and the kadipati (“kabupaten”) as “regentschappen”. The title of the bupati generally consisted of a formal name, for example “Sastradiningrat” for Karawang with the addition “Raden Aria Adipati”, (Raden Aria Adipati Sastradiningrat, RAA Sastradiningrat). The word adipati also survived in the colonial system.

The Indonesian government also kept the kabupaten, but gave up the "residenties" in the 1950s, making the kabupaten administrative units below the provincial level. The laws on regional autonomy passed in 1999 give the kabupaten greater power again.

In modern Java, Sultan Agung is revered for his Unification Wars, his reforms and his wars against the Dutch. In the Sukarno era, he was declared the national hero of Indonesia ( Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia ).

In Java's syncretic culture of Hinduism , Buddhism and Islam , a pilgrimage to his tomb is viewed as auspicious, and many go to great lengths to visit the imogiri on "auspicious" days and feast days of the Javanese and Islamic calendars .

literature

• Pranata: Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo , Jakarta: Yudha Gama (Indonesian).

Web links

Commons : Mataram Sultanate  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ S. Drakeley: The History of Indonesia . Greenwood 2005: 31. ISBN 9780313331145
2. ^ A. Montanus: Oud en nieuw East India. hal. 358
3. ↑ [1]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Afbeelding - AMH (Berkas AMH)  
4. ↑ Sumarsam . Gamelan: Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java . Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1995: 20.
5. ^ Romain Bertrand: Etat colonial, noblesse et nationalisme à Java. Paris 2005.

predecessor	Office	successor
Panembahan Seda Krapyak	Sultan of Mataram 1613-1645	Amangkurat I.